Now that the weather is heating up and we’re starting to see more and more of these 20+ degree days -we’re soon going to be experiencing the dog days of summer 🙂 There are a ton of ways to keep dogs cool – some obvious, some fun, some innovative…. But no matter how you do it, it is an absolute must to make sure your dog is safe in the heat. We incorporate pretty much all of these methods in our dog walking/dog daycare/dog boarding services – but now you can try them at home this summer! 1. KEEP YOUR DOG HYDRATED This is an obvious one – but will always be #1 on the list. Keep the water dish full and cool. A great thing you can do is throw a bunch of ice cubes in the dish as well. They’ll keep the …

Over the past ten years since we opened we have watched Toronto’s dog culture grow and blossom – we are such a wonderfully dog friendly city and it’s only getting better! You can find all kinds of dog services in this great city of ours but the one I want to focus in on today is Toronto’s Dog Daycares. There are a few different types of Dog Daycare available and it’s important to know what they are, and what the pros and cons of each types are so that you can make an informed choice and provide your dog with the best environment for their personality! KENNEL STYLE DOG DAYCARE This is where your dog will have their own kennel / crate for the day while you are away and will be able to relieve themselves when they need to on a schedule. THE …

People ask me all the time what are the most important things they can do for their dogs to keep them happy and healthy. I could go on and on and on for days on this topic but when it all boils down to it there are a bunch of specific categories that everything falls under. I thought it might make for a good “Top Ten” list so here goes: 1. Pick the Right Dog for You One of the biggest issues I hear from dog owners is that their dog is too “nuts” for them to handle. There are many reasons for this but one thing I see a LOT is a dog and an owner being mismatched. Choosing a dog MUST be more than picking the cutest one. All dogs are a major commitment; however, some dogs require WAY more exercise. Some dogs come with inherent health issues …

We have a dog in our pack right now is voracious about eating poop. Given the chance he would run around and eat every piece the minute it hits the ground – gross right!?! This isn’t the first time we’ve dealt with this and it certainly won’t be the last. I have been asked before why dogs eat poop and what can be done to curb the habit. I thought I’d write a bit on the topic because there are so many reasons/possible causes and some of them might be a warning that something else is going on with your dog’s health – so it’s important to pay attention to this if it’s happening with your dog! Let’s start with the medical reasons a dog might eat poop: 1. Enzyme Deficiency 2. Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI) 3. Parasites 4. Any Condition that Causes an …

It’s the time of year where a lot of dog owners are heading to the groomer and getting the old “Spring Shave Down” done on their pooches. Around this time every year I get asked this question quite a bit more than normal: “Do you think my dog is fat?” I think it’s because once all the hair is gone and an owner gets a glimpse of their pup’s true figure underneath, they’re not sure if it looked the same as last year, if it’s larger, or just right. In fact, judging weight is one of those things that has become so subjective that it’s difficult to know where your dog stands in the range from underweight to overweight unless they are very far on one end of the scale or the other. Good thing there are charts out there called “Body Condition Charts” that describe the different …

As the rainy Spring season comes about and we start dealing with muddier, messier, wetter dogs many parents have started asking me what kinds of things they can leave for us and what kinds of things they can do in their condos to make it easier for them to manage their dogs. This got me to thinking about all the things I have seen in my days in dog care that people have in their house/condos to make life with a dog easier in general – NOT just in the Spring (but some of these things can be helpful for weather changes too!). I have compiled a list of some of the best things I have seen dog owners do to make life easier/better for them and their dog when living in the city and are ESPECIALLY great for busy working professionals. Not all of these things are the …

Separation anxiety is a topic that has been coming up a lot recently around me so I thought I would write a quick blog post about it in case there is anyone out these going through this with their dog and might want to know some ways that they can recognize it / deal with it at home right away. Of course the first thing people will always say is “hire a dog trainer!” and that is usually the best idea because they have the ability to come in, meet your dog, assess the situation and set out a plan/goals for you and your dog to reach to overcome your specific hurdles. Many times, however, there are signs of separation anxiety that go missed, or aren’t noticed until you’re in a situation where you need to leave your dog and cannot because of these issues. OR you may just not …

Recently a “dog walker” in Toronto was witnessed walking half a dozen dogs off leash down a city street, while dragging a dog by the neck up on it’s hind legs. A passerby saw this happening and confronted this person in the street, all while filming him in the act. Later he posted this film online and has since been on the radio and tv news to tell his story. It turned out that the walker ran his own “company” called Woof Pack and did not have business insurance or a city walking permit. There has been a lot of discussions online about what is required for dog walkers since this story broke. A lot of what I hear from both sides is not factual so I thought I would write a post to clarify how dog walking works in Toronto and, more importantly, what questions a dog owner should …

1. You save a life. All animals at our shelter are in need of a second chance. They have been lost, given up or abandoned. They are all unwanted and helpless. You are giving them a new life in a loving home. 2. You help break the cycle of pet overpopulation. There are not enough homes for all the animals that are born every year. Adopting from a shelter helps weaken the pet overpopulation cycle. Each year 8 to 12 million dogs, cats, puppies and kittens are euthanized because there are simply not enough homes for them. 3. You help stop cruelty in mass breeding facilities. Throughout the country, thousands of commercial pet-breeding facilities and backyard breeders produce millions of animals for sale in pet stores and through newspaper ads. Often known as puppy and kitten mills, these facilities repeatedly impregnate female dogs that spend their entire lives in cages …

A Toronto police officer managed to save a German Shepherd that fell through the ice at Grenadier Pond Saturday—but not before he and a firefighter also fell into the water. The dog, named Whistler, ran onto the pond in High Park Saturday afternoon and fell through the thin ice. By the time police arrived, Whistler’s owner had crawled after the dog and was already six metres out, said Const. Matthew Abramovitz. They managed to get the owner safely back, although he fell in close to the shore. By this time Whistler had been in the water for about 10 minutes and looked tired, Abromovitz said. The dog was struggling to claw itself out, and at one point it looked like he stopped swimming. “He stopped paddling at one point,” he said. “I believed that his head was going to go under the water and we were going to lose him.” …